Third annual Maddy’s Run set for Nov. 4

Plans are well underway for the third annual “Maddy’s Run,” a fundraising race held in honor of Maddy “Strong” Brandl, an 11-year-old Eagle River girl who died of cancer in 2016.

The event — which includes a 0.7-kilometer race for small kids, a 2.5-kilometer untimed fun run and a timed 5-kilometer race — will be held Saturday, November 4 on the Eagle River High School trails. Funds raised will go to benefit two Alaska children currently undergoing treatment for childhood cancers.

The event began in 2015 while Brandl, a student at Homestead Elementary, was struggling with her ongoing illness. At the time, the “Run for Maddy” was used to help the family with its medical expenses. According to an online event description, Brandl wanted the run to continue in her honor even after she was gone.

“Before Maddy passed away in April, 2016, her mother Jenny recalled a particularly difficult stretch of days in which Maddy’s infectious smile was noticably absent,” reads the account. “One afternoon during that tough week, Jenny told her daughter about plans for the run to continue on every year to help other children and their families. Maddy’s face lit up with a smile for the first time in days. That was her wish!”

This year’s run will benefit Zakk Peryea, a 4-year-old from Fairbanks suffering from leukemia, and Jazee’ Holloway, a 7-year-old from Anchorage diagnosed in August with pineoblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. According to race organizer Dana Johnson, Peryea has undergone two years of chemotherapy since being diagnosed in 2015. Holloway and her family, meanwhile, have been forced to relocate to Seattle while she receives treatment.

The event gets started at 11 a.m. with the 2.5K and 0.7K fun runs, with the full 5K set for Noon. Cost is $10 for the 0.7K, $15 for the 2.5K and $25 for the 5K. There’s also a “virtual race” option where people can pay $20 to support the race online.

Anchorage’s Jerry Ross won the men’s 5K title and Chugiak’s Adrianna Proffitt won the women’s race at last year’s event, which raised more than $17,000 for three local children and their families.